These individuals commonly cite wine, especially red wine, as a migraine trigger. At the same time, alcohol consumption leads to the widening or dilating of blood vessels. This increases pressure in the head and creates the “throbbing” sensation felt during a hangover headache. While a hangover headache for some people stays mild, others can experience a more serious, almost debilitating migraine.
Alcohol as a Migraine Trigger
- A change in sleep pattern can contribute to triggering migraine attacks.
- Alcohol dependency poses a significant health concern across the United States, impacting up to 10% of adults across the country.
- Only few studies 46, 48,49,50, 52 provided the data about the period in which alcohol drinking was considered and measured.
- If you’re prone to alcohol-related headaches, try switching to white wine or clear spirits like vodka or gin in moderate amounts.
If possible, rest in a quiet, dark room—sleep can help your body recover and lessen the intensity of the headache. If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Why does alcohol give me a headache? This article will explore the link between migraines and alcohol, common causes, and ways to find migraines and alcohol relief. As you may recall, any kind of alcohol will eventually dehydrate you. Dehydration is one of the reasons why you get a headache after drinking.
Gender and body weight
As mentioned in the discussion above, alcohol consumption assessment is strongly based on patients’ honesty. If there is misleading data in questionnaires or during medical interviews, their overall subsequent analysis is also distorted. The relatively low number of cluster-headache studies also does not allow an assessment of any correlation with alcohol drinking. Moreover, some of the studies included in our review do not present results in an accurate way or do so without assigning patients to specific headaches. Therefore, it was not possible for our meta-analysis to contain all those studies where drinking was described with primary headache. The ways describing alcohol consumption habits were variously presented in almost each study, therefore could develop the observed heterogeneity among migraine analysis.
Other primary headaches
In other words, these issues are a toxic byproduct of alcohol metabolism in the body. According to the National Headache Foundation, over 90% of people have experienced an Drug rehabilitation alcohol-induced headache over the course of their lives. Any relief experienced from red wine likely comes from resveratrol, a potentially health-boosting plant compound. A delayed alcohol-induced headache is what we commonly call a hangover. Just like no two people are alike, different types of alcohol have distinct chemical makeup and effects on the body. Yet, a 2016 study pointed out that estimates vary and the reason that alcohol use might trigger migraine episodes is still unclear.
Any remaining articles were screened by title or abstract randomly by the authors (BB, PN and MS1) with the below presented inclusion/exclusion criteria and PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Hence, papers that did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded. In the final https://jardinyviveroscurico.cl/2021/12/24/the-difference-between-alcoholism-and-drug/ step, to assess the exact number of included articles, the authors (BB, PN and MS1) read the appropriate full-text papers and confirmed their relevance to the primary objective.
- After creating and using search terms in databases, the results were searched by three authors (BB, PN and MS1) independently.
- Be sure to talk with your healthcare provider about your “cocktail headache” plan.
- If you find yourself struggling to stop drinking or recognize that you have symptoms of alcohol use disorder, it’s important to reach out for help.
- These experiences can dehydrate the body, putting additional stress on organs.
Tim has written about recovery and addiction for well over a decade. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, cookie and spending time with his wife, children and three dogs. Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Furthermore, remember that your weight, age, and body composition also affect alcohol metabolism. The older you are, the harder it is for your body to metabolize alcohol.
The Truth About Turmeric for Headaches and Migraine
As experts in the field of head pain management, we navigate through this complex connection in this article. Always drink responsibly—which includes minimizing the chances that alcohol will affect your migraine. Current medical opinions on alcohol consumption are evolving with research, so it’s important to educate yourself on the effects of alcohol on your health. If you are struggling with alcohol abuse or other dependency issues, there are many resources that are ready to help.
Curious about your drinking? Take the AUDIT Quiz:
Alcohol dependency poses a significant health concern across the United States, impacting up to 10% of adults across the country. If a person has an alcohol use disorder, it can lead to severe health, social, and financial consequences. Dependency on alcohol doesn’t only impact those struggling with addiction. It also impacts their families and communities and puts an added burden on the healthcare system. Robert is our health care professional reviewer of this website. He has a nursing and business/technology degrees from The Johns Hopkins University.